How many contracts can you open?
Pick the contract, enter your stop in ticks or points and what you are willing to lose: the calculator returns the exact contracts, the real risk and your R-multiple targets.
Tick 0.25 = $1.25 · $5.00 per point
From your entry price to the stop, before slippage.
Optional. Added to the risk of every contract.
Contracts you can open
3MES
96% of the allowed risk
- Stop
- 32 ticks · 8 points
- Risk per contract
- $40.00
- Real risk with 3 contracts
- $120.00 / $125
With 1 contract your stop could go up to 100 ticks (25 points).
Full-size equivalent (ES)
3 MES equal 0.3 ES. The full-size contract would fit 0 at this risk.
Targets in R multiples
| Target | Distance | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| 1R | 8 points | $120.00 |
| 2R | 16 points | $240.00 |
| 3R | 24 points | $360.00 |
Gross profit if price travels 1R, 2R or 3R in your favor with 3 contracts (before commissions).
Official CME and ICE tick values and multipliers (September 2026). Commissions and slippage depend on your broker and the moment. This tool is informational and not financial advice.
What moves futures, before the open
Monday, Wednesday and Friday: the day's events that move ES, NQ, CL and GC, with their times, plus a short read on trading and funded accounts. Written by a trader who runs several accounts at once.
How position size is calculated
Three numbers decide how many contracts you open: how much you accept to lose, where the stop goes and what each tick is worth.
1. Risk per trade
Decide first what you accept to lose if the stop is hit. In a prop firm account measure it as a share of the cushion to the drawdown: 2–5% of the cushion is a common reference, not a rule.
2. Stop in ticks
The chart structure sets the stop, not the size. Convert it to ticks: in ES, 8 points are 32 ticks; in CL, $0.40 is 40 ticks.
3. Contracts
Risk per contract = ticks × tick value (+ commissions). Contracts = risk ÷ risk per contract, rounded down. If it comes out at zero, the micro is the answer.
Tick value by contract
The futures prop traders size every day, with the official tick and what a full point is worth.
| Symbol | Contract | Tick | Tick value | Per point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES | E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 |
| MES | Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5.00 |
| NQ | E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $5.00 | $20.00 |
| MNQ | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $0.50 | $2.00 |
| YM | E-mini Dow | 1 | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| MYM | Micro E-mini Dow | 1 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
| RTY | E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $5.00 | $50.00 |
| M2K | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $0.50 | $5.00 |
| CL | Crude Oil | 0.01 | $10.00 | $1,000.00 |
| MCL | Micro Crude Oil | 0.01 | $1.00 | $100.00 |
| NG | Natural Gas | 0.001 | $10.00 | $10,000.00 |
| MNG | Micro Natural Gas | 0.001 | $1.00 | $1,000.00 |
| GC | Gold | 0.1 | $10.00 | $100.00 |
| MGC | Micro Gold | 0.1 | $1.00 | $10.00 |
| SI | Silver | 0.005 | $25.00 | $5,000.00 |
| SIL | Micro Silver | 0.005 | $5.00 | $1,000.00 |
| ZB | 30-Year T-Bond | 0.03125 | $31.25 | $1,000.00 |
| ZN | 10-Year T-Note | 0.015625 | $15.63 | $1,000.00 |
| 6E | Euro FX | 0.00005 | $6.25 | $125,000.00 |
| M6E | Micro Euro FX | 0.0001 | $1.25 | $12,500.00 |
| ZC | Corn | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 |
| ZS | Soybeans | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50.00 |
| BTC | Bitcoin | 5 | $25.00 | $5.00 |
| MBT | Micro Bitcoin | 5 | $0.50 | $0.10 |
CME Group and ICE specifications. Micros are worth one tenth of the standard contract.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I risk per trade in a prop firm account?
There is no right number, but there is a right base: the cushion to the drawdown threshold, not the nominal account balance. 2% of a $2,500 cushion is $50; 5% is $125. The lower it is, the more trades in a row you can lose before the account is gone.
What if the calculator says zero contracts?
Your stop is too wide for that risk with that contract. Three ways out: use the micro equivalent (MES instead of ES, MNQ instead of NQ, MCL instead of CL), wait for an entry with a tighter stop, or accept more risk, which is almost never the right one.
Should I include commissions in the risk?
Yes. A round turn costs a few dollars per contract whether the trade wins or loses; with micros and tight stops that can be a large share of the risk. Enter what your broker charges per contract and the calculator adds it.
Points or ticks?
Either, as long as you know which one you are using. One ES point is 4 ticks of 0.25; one CL point is 100 ticks of 0.01. The calculator converts with the official tick of the contract you pick.
Guides
Related guides
Futures position sizing: contracts, ticks and risk per trade
Contracts = risk ÷ (stop ticks × tick value). It is one division, yet almost nobody does it before entering. Here it is with real micro and mini examples, commissions included.
8 min readMicros vs minis: when to use each in a prop firm account
Ten micros equal one mini in exposure, but not in commissions, granularity or what your cushion can take. The choice is not about courage: it is arithmetic on the drawdown.
8 min readHow to calculate R multiples in futures: ES, MES, NQ and MNQ
R is what you risk at entry; the R multiple is how many times that risk you won or lost. It is the only unit that compares an MES trade with an NQ trade and a 50K account with a 150K one.
8 min readLog every trade with its risk in R
Jornalo syncs your trades from NinjaTrader, detects your prop firm accounts and shows how much cushion you have left before every entry.